Syracuse beats No 11 Providence

I've always wondered about great cross country programs that are not well rounded in track and field. I respect high acheivement, however it is achieved, but I question how difficult it is to be good at one thing like cross country if you use all of your scholarships on just that discipline.

In fact there is no such thing as a cross country scholarship and you need 5 to complete a team score, yet if you are pouring 10 men's scholarhships or 18 women's scholarships into distance runners, shouldn't you be really good?

It is like a triathlete that focuses their training on the swim. Sure they can be first out of the water but they then get hammered on the bike and run.

They are track and field scholarships for a reason and not cross country scholarships. The same can be said for the sprint coaches that use the vast majority on 400 runners. If you put 7 scholarships in the 400, then you damn better have a good 4x4.

But the Providences, and Boston Colleges and Villanovas who don't even know what a thrower looks like, are playing a different game than the Oregon's or UCLAs or Florida States of the world that undersand the big picture.

I too love cross country and admire strong teams, but I really admire teams that do well in cross country, then they also have sprint jump and throw programs as well.

I would bet that neither Syracuse or Providence guys are posting on this thread. Just some other teams that are hoping both programs get smashed.

I don't know Fox or Tracey but do know of their solid reputations and I would also bet that neither is putting huge stock in a race in early September.

The only thing surprising about the results was in the women's race. That is where Syracuse seems to have surprised people. It did me.

Guys who are actually on the team and were in the race are probably not posting on this thread, just onlookers and people who like to start fires. The boys on the team just run and are not even thinking about this race anymore. I would say that they are all looking towards the next race and the actual start of the season. All teams involved know that the real season does not start for a few weeks and then we'll see who's who.

Apparently all their training this summer was done "top secret"...no joke.

cmXC wrote:

Apparently all their training this summer was done "top secret"...no joke.

Hahaha

I have an inside source that tells me they discovered this secret new way to train. Don't tell anyone I told you, but they were doing 100 miles a week and maybe a road race or tempo here and there. It's this brand new way to train that only Syracuse knows....Don't tell anyone I told you..SHHH."

If Weeks is in thier top five then I think Columbia might actually be ranked top five in the country!

First Time Out - Contractor License Hy-Tek's Meet Manager

Binghamton U. Cross Country Invitational - 9/8/2007

Binghamton University - Binghamton, NY

Last Completed Event

Event 1 Men 8k Run CC

===============================================================

Name Year School Finals

===============================================================

1 Richard, Zach 08 Columbia University 26:23.6

2 Whitt, Dan 10 Columbia University 26:23.7

3 Poland, Tom 11 Columbia University 26:23.8

4 Bogner, James 10 Columbia University 26:24.0

5 Morris, Paul 09 Columbia University 26:24.1

6 Martin, Dustin 11 Columbia University 26:24.1

7 Merra, Anthony 11 Columbia University 26:24.2

8 McElroy, Mason 09 Columbia University 26:24.3

9 Randall, Jeff 09 Columbia University 26:24.4

10 Aukshunas, Curtis 10 Columbia University 26:24.5

11 Boylan-Pett, Liam 08 Columbia University 26:24.5

12 McDonald, Gerald 11 Binghamton U 26:35.2

13 Brocks, Mike 11 Syracuse 26:38.3

14 Weeks, Steven 11 Syracuse 26:45.4

Wisconsin. Arkansas. Good track, good xc.

Haha wow

Yeah you should be really good, and they are. Providence is a tiny school with a tiny athletic budget. Seriously, comparing it to Oregon, UCLA and Florida State is just silly. There are probably as many scholarship athletes at UCLA as there are undergrads at Providence (that's hyperbole). So what's wrong with a tiny, private college that doesn't even have an outdoor track facility, focusing on cross country?

where is murdock?

Villanova has had the Big East Champion in a throws event the last 7 years (except last year where their 06 champion Mcdade had an off year).

With Barry Flicker, and Bob Mcdade, theyve had about 8 Big East Throws Championships in the past 7 years.

"Great Expectations: Syracuse Cross Country Ready For Action"

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Syracuse men and women’s cross country teams begin regular-season competition on Friday, September 28 at the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University. After introducing the Orange as a national contender in 2006 and an impressive 2007 preseason, both squads anticipate even more success on the horizon.

“It’s definitely a different feeling this year,” said third-year Syracuse head coach Chris Fox. “It was exciting last year because we were new and we had young kids. Now, we know what direction we’re heading and we have expectations.”

Some of the expectations that Fox alludes to have already come to fruition just a few weeks into the season. The SU men and women are coming off first-place finishes at last weekend’s Boston College Invitational, the site of this year’s Northeast Regionals on November 10. Senior Kyle Heath and junior Nana Sang-Bender led the Orange to victories against four teams nationally ranked by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

“I think the teams have a good perspective this year,” Fox said. “We really played it low-key at Boston College. We said ‘it’s the first meet, we want to go out and run as hard as we can for where we are.’ But when we go to a meet now, we want and expect to win.”

The Orange men and women look to build off their early-season success en route to qualifying for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on November 19. Fox and his staff’s expectations reach beyond the BIG EAST Championships and the Northeast Regionals.

“We fully expect to go to nationals this year,” Fox said. “We expect to be there and we know we’ll be good enough on the right day to go. That would be a huge step and that’s the first hurdle we have to clear for the future of this program. We have a lot of momentum all over the country right now in terms of what we’re trying to do here at Syracuse.”

The Orange returns a core nucleus of performers including junior Jeff Scull and Sang-Bender. Scull, and sophomores Dan Busby and Jay Koloseus received Northeast All-Region honors last season. Senior Liz Cufari and Sang-Bender garnered All-BIG EAST accolades in 2005 and 2006, respectively, becoming the first SU women to receive the honor since Alicia Hauber in 1983.

Several highly-touted newcomers highlight Fox’s third recruiting class at Syracuse. Freshmen Erin Schirm captured a first-place finish at the Harry Lang Invitational and freshmen Kathleen Hursey placed sixth at the Binghamton Invitational.

“The future looks bright,” Fox said. “Whatever happens this year, we’re that much better next year and we’re that much better the year after.”

The first step of the Syracuse cross country season will be taken at Lehigh. While the Boston College Invitational capped off a productive preseason and set the tone for the regular season, don’t think for one second that Fox and the Orange will underestimate the significance of the Paul Short Invitational.

“It’s an important meet,” Fox said. “It’s a step for the program and we’re looking for to it. We’re excited.”

http://suathletics.com/News/ccountry/2007/9/21/xc_seasonprvw.asp?path=ccountry

Bump...

What happened to these guys at Pre Nats? Not a bad run, but not great either. They dropped out of the rankings this week and it is going to be hard for them to get any points at Big Easts. Even if they beat nova, it probably wont be enough. These guys are so talented and they will probably be at home instead of in Indiana in November. I hope not, but it seems likely

speaking of this....what the hell happned to the Auburn program?

Heree wrote:

Noone is saying Syracuse isn't good this year ...

Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits is dissing Syracuse, is he? In that case, my lovely daughter was into something no good back in 1965 and I'm glad she dumped him!

Auburn is back at 5th or 6th ranked in the south. They won the georgia meet and should be top 5 at SEC's. Last week at Chile pepper they also had the top SEC female freshmen in the race.

the team fox left behind was all upper classmen and they had almost zero underclassmen

Auburn also runs the xc program with less than a scholarship and a half but I heard (from the coach) that he has a lot more money being given to him next year.

My guess is Syracuse was just not used to running at meets like this. Is this their first PreNats? If you think about it noone on the team has probably run in a race as big as this. I could be wrong. It was an ok showing for a growing program. Once they get used to running races like this they will fair better. My guess is next year they will be much better at this race.